I wasn’t planning on writing any more blogs until I got home, but in honor of the king’s birthday, I figured it would be a nice ending to my time in Southeast Asia to share a couple shots from The King of Thailand’s 80th birthday. Just a few shots from an awe-inspiring night in honor of a King that is almost deified by the Thai people.

I’m currently travelling through Indonesia and thus am away from both my laptop and steady internet. Therefore, I won’t be updating my site with any of my work from my few days in Singapore, my time here in Indonesia, or my 5 days in Tokyo until I return home in December. I’ll put up a few shots from my past few weeks in Indonesia to tide you over until then. Thanks for understanding!

My next stop was the relatively untraveled country of Laos. Laos had its borders closed to foreigners for many years, but recently changed that policy and have since let travelers in to enjoy one of the most beautiful countries I’ve ever seen. The rolling hills and winding roads that travel through them are often terraced into beautiful green rice paddies. I spent most of my short time in this county in and around Luang Prabang, a city which has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site because of its great degree of preservation as an authentic Southeast Asian city.

I also traveled to Pak Ou cave, a cave filled with thousands of buddhas and relics that have been deemed unusable due to being too old or broken. It was amazing to see so many antique Buddha statues seemingly laid to rest in such an interesting location. I then spent two days at Tad Sae waterfall, which is absolutely the most stunningly beautiful waterfall I’ve ever seen. It was an amazing place to spend a couple of days, wandering and climbing around the many levels of falls and exploring all of the different areas. There were certainly some tense moments, being chest deep in water with a tripod and camera, but in the end, it was worth it….especially since I managed to come away with a dry camera.

I traveled for a couple of weeks in northern Thailand getting lost in the hills. I spent my time exploring caves, experiencing my first muay thai fight, and riding through the hills on a tiny motorbike. I started in Chiang Mai where I visited some of their night markets and enjoyed a few bouts of muay thai, or Thai kickboxing. Thereafter I traveled to the Pang Mapha region, staying near the small town of Soppong, where I got the chance to kayak right through a huge cave called Tham Lod. I spent a few days riding around the outskirts of Pai and hiking through the forest looking in search of remote waterfalls. I then culminated my amazing time in the north by riding the 100 mile trip along the winding hilltop roads back to Chiang Mai.

After seeing hundreds and hundreds of temples in the past months in India, Burma, Thailand, and Nepal it was time for me to visit one of the most famous temple sites in the world—the Angkor temples in Cambodia. These amazing ruins of Angkor are spread out around forests and farmland in northern Cambodia. While some of the temples have been restored and renovated to show what they once looked like, others have been left in a state close to when they were rediscovered—surrounded by jungle with trees growing in, around, and through the ruins. The temples have received a spot in recent pop culture as they are featured in the Tomb Raider movies as well as a few other recent movies.

Angkor Wat is considered to be the most famous of the buildings included in the ruins, and is the largest religious monument in the world. Unfortunately, all the fame of these temples and ruins has lead to an unbelievable amount of tourism and tour groups walking through the ruins. This necessitated a lot of early mornings to avoid the crowds as much as possible, however even when doing so there were still 1000+ people every morning for sunrise at Angkor Wat. Aside from the overwhelming presence of hoards of other tourists, exploring the ruins was a very fun and rewarding experience and it was nice to see a lot of the places I’ve seen pictured so many times.

I had never heard of Bokor Hill Station until I arrived in southern Cambodia, but the tales of a twice-abandoned hill station built by the French that included a hotel, casino, post office, and church all on top of a mountain overlooking the Gulf of Thailand was too enticing to pass up. After a grueling five-hour ride in the back of a seemingly ancient pickup truck on one of the worst roads I’ve encountered on this trip thus far, I arrived at the top just in time for the fog to roll in.

Walking into the casino and hotel took my breath away. The first room I explored was the ballroom on the main floor which was truly awe-inspiring. One could easily imagine what the rooms might have once been used for, however all the rooms were now covered in different colored mosses and funguses, and the paint, tiles, and ceilings were slowly decaying. Water seeped through every crack and dripped down through the ceilings, completing the eerie feel. It was like walking through a horror movie set.

The history of Bokor is quite interesting too, and filled with many unhappy deaths. Halfway up the hill, the Cambodian king set up the “Black Palace” (which was actually just two smallish buildings which are not palatial at all) to use as a vacation home. Years later when the French came into Cambodia, They built an extravagant casino, hotel, church, post office, and bank on top of the mountain. Legend has it that the vast majority of people who built the road to the top died during its construction.

Much of the hill station is built on a cliff overlooking the Gulf of Thailand and the casino is built right next to this cliff. Supposedly many gamblers who lost large amounts of money threw themselves off of this cliff in fits of despair. Later, after the French left Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge eventually took over the hill station. They killed many people by pushing them off the cliff or blindfolding them and telling the victim to walk forward until they fell off. Eventually the Vietnamese followed the Khmer Rouge to the top of Bokor Hill Station to end their reign. Each side holed themselves up in the different buildings and fought between them. One can easily see hundreds of bullet and shelling holes in the walls, and one of the walls of the post office was literally blown off by a mortar strike. Many casualties ensued and eventually the Vietnamese were able to succeed in flushing the Khmer Rouge out of the hill station.

Even today many unhappy deaths continue to occur. Apparently it is not uncommon for young couples who’ve been forbidden to marry each other to throw themselves off the cliff together. Also, every New Years Eve many Cambodian soldiers will go to the hill station to drink and party, which has sometimes led to some of them quarrelling and eventually shooting and killing one another. Needless to say, this was one of the craziest and creepiest places I’ve ever seen, but I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable places I’ve ever explored. I stayed up there for two nights and wish I would’ve had time to stay longer. This is a place that is on the top of my list of places to return to.

I arrived in Bagan filled with excitement to finally visit this place that I’d been dreaming about for many years of my life. The ruins of Bagan are spread over 16 square miles and include more than 2000 temples and pagodas. Most of the temples were built between 1000-1200 CE, however construction of temples has continued up to today, with new temples and pagodas still being built.

My excitement for being at this dream photographic destination was quickly tempered by the fact that for the first six days I was there, the skies were horribly overcast in a cloudless bright white—even at sunrise and sunset. Thankfully, after those 6 days of depressing weather preventing me from getting many good shots, the 7th day was full of blue skies and perfect clouds. My wait had paid off and I shot from sunrise to sunset to take advantage of this window of good weather.

In the late afternoon, I sat down on top of one of the temples to take a break, and to my amazement a rainbow came out of nowhere and filled the sky above Bagan. Apparently the gods were smiling down on me for my patience in waiting out the overcast days and gave me a little reward in the form of a rainbow. It was absolutely amazing to witness and is a moment I’ll not soon forget.

My next stop in Myanmar took me to Inle Lake, a 45 square mile lake that is 2900 feet above sea level. The lake is home to many floating villages, floating restaurants, and floating gardens. While not really “floating,” they are all built on an elaborate system of stilts over the water and have therefore turned the relatively unusable lake surface into a busy village.

I spent much of my time in Inle bicycling through villages and rice paddies and enjoying the leisurely pace of life that exists around the lake. I also explored the lake in a long motorized canoe, visiting a local market that was frequented by many members of surrounding hill tribes. I also stopped at a monastery where monks have trained a group of cats to jump through hoops on command.

I then went to some of the places where they make the local handicrafts such as cheroots (Burmese cigars), handmade paper, and hand-woven silk, some of which is made from the fibers of the lotus flower. As I explored the lake, I passed many fishermen propelling their boats by leg-paddling, which is native to Inle Lake. The fishermen use their stronger leg muscles to paddle, instead of their arms, saving energy and freeing their hands for fishing.

Upon arriving in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), I took the first flight to Mandalay, which is the second biggest city in this relatively unexplored country. Burma has had a very tumultuous recent history and prohibited tourism for many years. They have recently started allowing tourists to enter the country, although there are many restrictions on what one can bring in to Myanmar—for example laptops are not allowed as it “proves” you are a journalist—and thus it was a little unnerving bringing all of my camera gear into the country.

When I arrived in Mandalay I decided to stay in the monk district of the city, which is lined with stores selling monk kits to young novice monks. There are about 500,000 monks in Myanmar and a very large portion of these monks live in Mandalay. I spent my days wandering the streets and alleys and being invited into many different monasteries and temples and exploring some of the 700 pagodas that are spread throughout Mandalay. I also spent an evening climbing Mandalay Hill for the sunset (or lack thereof in my case) and then off to the famous Moustache Brothers performance of political satire for which two of the brothers had been previously imprisoned.

I also ventured out to some of the outlying cities such as Pelek, Mingun, and Amarapura, the latter of which is home to the longest teak bridge in the world. The bridge becomes wonderfully crowded with monks and fisherman at the end of the day. Mandalay felt very authentically Burmese, and I really enjoyed the city as a whole. The people of Mandalay were some of the friendliest people I’ve met on my travels as of yet, and they were all eager to talk and to tell me their stories. I very much look forward to returning to Mandalay someday soon.

The final part of my trek began with a stop in Tatopani (literally “hot water”) for the hot springs. After sampling the hot springs once, I extended my stay in Tatopani by 2 nights to have time to enjoy the hot springs and let my sore muscles rest in the sometimes incredibly hot water. Both of those days ended up raining for most of the day, which allowed me to put my camera away and spend time in the hot springs sitting under the rain. It was truly a magical place during the rains.

The hot springs also helped me de-stress after the biggest danger of trekking in the Annapurna Himalayan range these days–the blasting. There is currently a project to build a road that will eventually span the entire Annapurna circuit. This is bad for tourists and tourist driven businesses, but good for the locals as it will improve infrastructure and increase revenues of non-tourist trades, like fruit sales from the orchards. Because of this new road, there are people everywhere pounding holes into the larger rocks, to eventually be filled with dynamite by young Nepali children and then blasted to clear a path for the road. At times, I would be stopped on the trail and asked to sit under the roof of a local hotel, restaurant, or home to avoid any rocks/debris falling from the sky. This was certainly the most dangerous and most stressful part of the trek, but many locals paid no attention and went on with their business as though nothing were happening…these are mountain people after all.

After Tatopani (1200m), I climbed up through Sikha to spend the night in Ghorepani, before waking up at 4AM to make the final ascent to the top of Poon Hill (3210m). The summit of Poon Hill has a viewing tower that offers amazing views of much of the Annapurna Range, but usually only very early in the morning before the clouds and haze roll in (at this altitude you are above most of the cloud line). I was lucky enough to get there on a day with good weather and superb views—albeit for only about 10 minutes. There were many disappointed trekkers who arrived 10 minutes too late, but I was able to show them what they missed with the pictures I had taken. Some decided to stay an extra day and try again the next morning, while others were impatient to get off of the hill and be done with their trek, and left without any of the views.

After spending two extra days in Tatopani, the guilt of my luxuriating in the hot springs convinced me to combine my last two days of descending into one long descent down to Nayapul (1070m) where I was able to get a ride back to Pokhara in time for a sushi dinner.

My trek was truly an unforgettable experience that I will cherish for many years. I am grateful that I was able to hike through that area of the Annapurna circuit in what may be the last season of trekking without the new road. The people I met, the views I witnessed, and the challenges I faced in my climb made my time there a very special couple of weeks.

After Muktinath, I descended back down through Jarkhot, Jomsom and eventually to Marpha, all with many stops to smaller villages off of the tourist track. On the way down I had a chance to visit many monasteries that were hundreds of years old and steeped in tradition, culture, and art. One of the monasteries I visited had only one Buddhist nun who occupied it, and it was so old that she said she literally did not know when it was built. Meeting people in these smaller villages that haven’t yet seen hoards of trekkers was a very rewarding experience filled with lots of laughs and smiles.

I decided to spend an extra day in Marpha, a town filled with orchards of apples, apricots, and peaches. While walking around the village, I was very fortunate to actually meet the man that brought these fruit trees to Marpha. He proceeded to tell me his story and how he ended up bringing the fruit trees to the region and founded a horticultural school for locals to continue his work in the years to come. It was wonderful speaking with someone who was so instrumental in bringing such advantageous change to the region.

I spent the rainy afternoon of my day off at a Tibetan camp, a small settlement of Tibetan refugees, who were having an archery competition filled with rukshe (local homemade liquor), black tea, and momos. It was amazing to see inebriated men who could barely walk, regularly hit a target 100 feet away with a bow and arrow. When the rukshe level continued to rise, and accuracy started to plummet, I decide it was time to leave if I were to get out in one peace. The people there were incredibly friendly and very welcoming, and one even let me try out his bow–a great experience to say the least.

I decided a trip to Nepal would not be complete without a trek, which was the reason I first came to Nepal 9 years ago. After meeting with a photographer friend in Kathmandu who had been trekking in Nepal for over 20 years, I decided on a trek that would allow me to see much of what the Annapurna circuit has to offer, but in half the time, thus allowing me to spend more time taking pictures.

Since I took so many pictures that I’m happy with, I decided to break my 2-week trek into 3 parts in this recent work section, hoping that it will make browsing the pictures a little less daunting.

To begin my trek, I took an exhilarating flight from Pokhara to Jomsom (2800m) that involved us weaving through some of the larger Himalayan peaks found in the world which offered breathtaking views of the mountains. After the short flight I emerged from the plane in a landscape that looked as though I were on the moon. Vegetation was sparse and everything seemed to be made of rock; high stone cliffs towered next to me while I walked along the pebble-strewn Kali Gandaki river bed, which at times is a kilometer wide.

From here I walked to Kagbeni, a beautiful old village filled with Tibetan architecture, people, and traditions. Kagbeni borders the Upper Mustang region which requires a very pricey permit to enter, and I was certainly content with exploring much of the rest of the Mustang region–an area with a population of only 9000. Thereafter I trekked up to Jarkhot and Muktinath (3800m), the latter of which is a popular Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage site. Muktinath is mentioned in many Hindu scriptures including the Mahabharata and is considered to be one of the most sacred shrines for followers of Vishnu, one of the most popular Hindu deities. Muktinath, a village of temples, is also rich with Tibetan Buddhist influence with many prayer wheels, stupas, and prayer flags flying in the wind. The two best-known sites in Muktinath are the 108 fountains that are said to have spiritual cleansing properties and two (previously three) flames that are emitted from a spring of both water and natural gas. Muktinath is such a popular pilgrimage site that there is actually a heli-pad for wealthy pilgrims to fly to without having to do all that climbing.

Having the chance to visit such an amazing place with such prominence in two of the world’s major religions was an amazing opportunity that was well worth all the climbing. I even bathed in the 108 fountains, so maybe all the soreness and sweating will pay off on a spiritual level as well.

My next stop in Nepal was the relaxing city of Pokhara that is set right on the edge of Fewa Lake, or Fewa Tal as it is known in Nepali. I spent two weeks spending my time paddling around the lake and walking through town to photograph all the nature and culture that surrounded me. There were cows forever grazing in the rice paddies, dragonflies always exploring the edges of the lake and new flowers blooming everywhere.

In the afternoons, there was a refreshing rain that would fall for a couple of hours almost every day, just like clockwork. While Pokhara definitely has a touristy area, I made sure to stay far north which allowed to me have wonderful interactions with a lot of the local residents. The walk into town through the Nepali area was often my favorite part of the day as the locals were so friendly and curious there. I also had the opportunity to work on my Nepali language skills thanks to impromptu language lessons from some of the kids. Pokhara was truly a wonderful place to unwind and I am hoping to return before I leave Nepal.

After staying in the heart of the tourist center of Kathmandu–an area called Thamel–I needed an escape from the westernization and searched for a more authentic city in the Kathmandu Valley and I arrived in Patan. Patan is the second largest city in the Kathmandu valley, yet it somehow escaped the influx of tourists that filled many of the streets in Kathmandu. Patan is traditionally a metal workers’ city and almost all of the metal statues, sculptures, and door handles that you see anywhere in India and Nepal come from Patan. While walking through some of the smaller streets, you could hear the sound of metal being worked at all hours of the day.

Aside from the metalworking, Patan also has a beautiful grouping of temples in its own Durbar Square (which rivals the Durbar Square of Kathmandu). This Durbar Square was much quieter with more locals sitting and chatting on the steps of the temples surrounded by beautiful architecture. While spending the afternoon here, I made friends with some of the local children who use the temples as their playground and had an opportunity to photograph them with wonderful smiles painted across their faces. One of the youngest even acted as a junior tour guide to me, showing me some of the more special areas of the square. Patan is a wonderful city not far from Kathmandu, and I urge everyone traveling in Nepal to visit this magical place.

My final destination in my circuit around India was the famous Punjabi city of Amritsar. This amazing town is the holy city for the members of the Sikh faith–often characterized by turban, beard, and sometimes a dagger or sword. Sikhs consider themselves to be “protectors” and dress in similar fashion in order to identify one another. They carry the sword or dagger as a symbol of this responsibility to protect.

Amritsar is centered around Harimandir Sahib, or the Golden temple as it is more popularly known in the West. This unbelievable temple is truly a sight to be seen with its constant flow of Sikh pilgrims, gold encrusted everything, and a perpetual reading of the holy book every hour of the day. While there are multiple copies of the holy book in the Golden Temple, one of them is considered to be the most important, and I felt privileged to witness the beautiful ceremony that puts the book “to bed” every night.

I also had the opportunity to view the Wagah border ceremony. This daily tradition is a ritualized closing of the border gates between Pakistan and India (two countries not known for their friendliness with one another) that is filled with song, dance, and elaborate marching. It was amazing to see and hear the crowds that assembled at each side of the border cheering for their country as if we were at a sporting event.

While my time in Amritsar was shorter than I would’ve liked, I truly enjoyed every minute I was there and look forward to going back as soon as I return to India.

I was lucky enough to spend my birthday in McLeod Ganj–the home of both the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in Exile. The city of Dharamsala, India contains the village of McLeod Ganj (also known as upper Dharamsala) and lower Dharamsala. The latter of these two is very much a standard commercialized Indian city without any specific appeal to the city itself. McCleod Ganj, however, is a beautiful village set in the middle of a valley surround by views of snowcapped mountains and soaring hawks. The streets are filled with monks and nuns in the traditional burgundy robes coming in and out of their monasteries. I was also fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the Dalai Lama himself as he drove by me.

I spent my days enjoying the view of the valley from my balcony and wandering through the incredibly hilly streets. There was also a nice pathway that encircles the Dalai Lama’s residence as well as a few monasteries where I spent a few afternoons. Circumambulating this path in a clockwise direction is seen as auspicious and is an important daily activity for the Buddhist population living in Dharamsala.

Following my stay in Varanasi I spent a day at Deer Park in Sarnath, which is the location of the Buddha’s first sermon and thus the creation of Dharma. Lying thirteen kilometers from Varanasi, Sarnath is one of the most popular Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India. Although the original Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya (the tree which the Buddha sat beneath while reaching enlightenment) was destroyed, a sapling was used to preserve and extend the tree’s existence and there is now a clone of that Bodhi tree in Sarnath which I was lucky enough to sit under. Aside from the Bodhi tree there are also a number of Stupas in Deer Park that were some of the biggest I have ever seen.

I also visited a temple that contained a beautiful golden shrine of the Buddha. I met one of the local monks who kindly let me go past the gated area to allow me to take better pictures. He was a very friendly and genuine individual who was visibly excited by my interest in the temple. Thereafter, he explained some of the other art in the temple to me and made my visit there an incredibly rewarding experience all around.

After spending much of my life dreaming about visiting Varanasi, I was elated to arrive in such a magical city. Varanasi is considered the holiest of all cities in the Hindu faith, and before that it was a holy Buddhist city as well. The Ganges, or Ganga as it is known in India, flows through the center of Varanasi and is bordered by the famous ghats, which are steps down to the river used for bathing, washing, religious practices and a variety of other things–including two ghats whose sole purpose is for cremation of human remains along this holy river. I spent a lot of time walking along the Ganges and took every chance I had to go on a sunrise or sunset boat ride along the ghats—when the river’s edge is busiest with religious pilgrims, Sadhus, and Hindu priests performing puja rituals (religious offerings to the Gods).

The city lived up to every hope, dream, and expectation I had about this hyper-religious town that is steeped in culture and history. In ways, being a photographer in Varanasi was my biggest challenge in all of India, as I felt constantly overwhelmed by all the sites, rituals, and people. Just narrowing down all the pictures to 50 or less proved to be a daunting task. Varanasi felt most like the India I had dreamt about before coming to this wonderful country—packed full of colors, ceremonies, tradition, religion, and culture. I enjoyed every minute I spent in Varanasi and plan on spending much more time there when I return to India.

The next stop on my trail through India was a small beach town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu called Mamallapuram. This charming town was built around a longtime tradition of rock carving, and many carved statues were displayed throughout the town. The constant noise of “clink, clink, clink” of the chisel hitting the stone quickly became an expected background noise wherever I was in the town. Mamallapuram is also the home of a few famous religious rock sculptures set in a nice park on the outskirts of town. Arjuna’s penance, a bas-relief carving that told the story of his life in the Bhagavad Gita (a very famous story in the Hindu faith) was an amazing site to behold. In addition, there was also “Krishna’s butterball” which is a very large naturally formed boulder sitting precariously on the edge of a steep slope of rock, seemingly waiting to topple, where picnickers and goats alike seek shade from the midday sun.

Aside from my time in Mamallapuram, I also ventured out to the “Crocodile Bank” about 15 km from town where they house hundreds of various giant lizards and snakes (crocodiles of all types, alligators, gharials, and a variety of poisonous snakes). Since the walls that keep the giant lizards in were unbelievably low, yet there were signs warning that “crocs can jump“, I certainly kept my distance from a lot of the tanks of crocs while still trying to get some good shots. It felt as though I were photographing them up-close in the wild, certainly not one of my first aspirations in photography considering the danger, but it sure was a lot of fun.

Upon arriving in Madurai I checked into a hotel that was apparently the tallest building in Madurai. After dropping my bags off in my room I walked to the hotel roof where I was astounded by the view of the Meenakshi-Sundareshwara Temple, the main draw to Madurai for both international travelers and Hindu pilgrims. The roof seemed to almost be on top of the temples as it was unbelievably close to the nearest tower in the temple. After a night of watching the temple as the sun fell, I spent the next few days walking through the temple taking pictures of the sculptures, architecture, people, and rituals.

Madurai is a fascinating city with a very authentic feel to it as it has been a pilgrimage destination for hundreds of years. While there was not a whole lot else to see in Madurai, my camera was constantly in use with all the fascinating people and culture that was ever present. In addition to all this, I must add that Madurai had some of the best Indian food that I have found in this vast country, and it was always served on a banana leaf to make it certifiably authentic.

I travelled to Kochi, in the southern state of Kerala, to find the true south-Indian culture and surroundings and I was very pleased with what I found. Kochi had some of the nicest and most honest people of the entire trip, and although it was a bit of a tourist destination, it still seemed relatively well preserved. While there I enjoyed an authentic Kathakali performance, which is traditional ritualized theatre put on by a family that has been performing it for generations. I later learned that the narrator of the program was 76 and his father had danced until he was 97 years old!

I also embarked on one of the legendary “backwater tours” which turned out to be amazing (I usually try and avoid any type of organized tour if possible). It started on a small houseboat in the morning and later moved to smaller boats to see the more remote backwaters. The tour also included lessons in climbing a palm tree, a couple great shots of the famed kingfisher, and a viewing of a calcium factory, where they extract the calcium from mussel shells by heating them to an extremely hot temperature. I also witnessed the other main trade in Kochi which is the “harvesting” of sand–an illegal practice that is still one of the most popular jobs in Kerala. Overall, Kerala really impressed me and I wish I had been able to spend more time there. Maybe next time…

After a hectic few days of traveling from Rajasthan, including a chaotic day in Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) at the hotel Oasis, which is certainly not an oasis, I arrived in Goa. Usually considered to be the most relaxed state in India, Goa seemed to live up to its expectation almost immediately.

I decided to stay in the less-commercialized northern part of Goa, in a small fishing village called Arambol. It quickly became evident to me that Arambol was a very special and relaxed place to unwind from the craziness of traveling through the rest of India.

After a day or two on the beach I missed the Indian charm and culture from the rest of India, but a quick walk down the main road included the regular speeding motorcycles, minibuses, and rickshaws–all honking and thus reminding me that I was still in India.

During my stay in Arambol, I was fortunate enough to attend “Carnival” on the beach. Carnival in Goa is the same celebration as the similarly named festival that occurs annually in Brazil and also usually coincides with Mardi Gras, all in the days leading up to the Catholic Lent. As you will see from the pictures, the local hippy culture really comes alive in the town and there was a huge procession down the beach that must have included 1000 people in costume, celebrating wildly. The firedancers came out later that night and put on an amazing show as well.

I also had the opportunity to do a shoot for a couple of professional masseuses who were traveling through Asia giving ayurvedic and Thai massages on the beach. Not only did I enjoy receiving a massage from them more than once, I had a great time helping them with their business card and advertising photos and they were great models as they were repeatedly soaked during the shoot yet had a smile through the whole thing.

March 2nd, 2007: I just added a few more pictures to this collection. The last two shots were taken in the middle of the night but with a long exposure even though they look like they were taken in the middle of the day. I reluctantly left Goa after three great weeks to head to my next spot on the Indian map, Kerala.

I had originally planned on stopping through Ellora to take a quick look at their ancient caves from 3 different religions and then keep on heading south. I know, I know…even just my description of Ellora makes it obvious as to why I instead stayed there for 4 days. Ellora is a small town about 10 hours by train from Mumbai that is nestled next to ancient “caves” that are all hand carved from rock and filled with religious statues and decorations. The Ellora caves consist of Hindu caves, Buddhist caves, and Jain caves—a total of 36 caves in all.

I was also shown about fifteen more caves (complete with a bright orange ganesh statue) that were certainly not part of the standard tour of Ellora by a local I had befriended the previous day. These caves were on top of a waterfall, but during the dry season the usual rushing water of the waterfall is not there, but rather a few nice serene pools of water with an eerie green glow coming from them because of the lime deposits. After a quick dip in the pools I enjoyed the sunset on top of the caves and finally made my way down.

It took me 3 days to see all the caves in their entirety, oftentimes alone in a cave by myself for an hour—certainly an ideal time to relax and reflect on my travels thus far and dream of where they will take me in the coming months. This was by far one of the most beautiful, humbling, and amazing places I have ever visited in my life. If you ever visit India, I strongly recommend a stop in Ellora.

While staying in Bharatpur, I made the obligatory trip to Agra, India–home of the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort of Agra–as well as going a few more kilometers to see Fatehpur Sikri, an old abandoned fort city.

While I will spare you my photos of the Taj Mahal (does the world really need another photo of the Taj?!) I must share a few of my shots from the Red Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, as they were quite beautiful. The Red Fort was truly captivating as it is filled with intense marble lattice work and covered in ornate carvings. The monkeys playing around and showing off on the wall of the fort only added to the Red Fort’s allure.

Fatehpur Sikri was enduring a renovation when I visited, so instead I visited the Mosque that was connected. While the Mosque was beautiful, it was sad to see that it had been turned into a storefront for so many vendors who were literally sitting on graves of holy people that had been buried in the mosque many years ago, purely to sell you a scarf or elephant carved from marble. That said, it was amazing to see all the beautiful places that I had dreamed about when thinking of India through my own lens, as opposed to others’.

While we originally intended to go to Bharatpur for its world renowned bird sanctuary, it turned out that because of a bad monsoon the previous year and a change in damming practices to help the farmers, the park was nothing like it used to be because of its lack of water.

Luckily, we came to Bharatpur before the Braj Festival which is a celebration of the birth of the Hindu god, Shiva. The festival was great and we quickly made friends with the family who owned Falcon Lodge Guest House which I highly recommend if you ever find yourself in Bharatpur, India.

I even made it into the local newspaper for being a foreign photographer! I guess I never thought I’d make the front page of a paper with a picture taken of me instead of a picture taken by me.

I arrived in Delhi on India’s Republic Day–a very interesting day to arrive in India as everything is closed for the huge Republic Day parade, complete with camel battalions and tanks from the India Army. As I rid myself of jet lag, the country seemed to awaken throughout the day and became the hustle and bustle filled country that it usually is.

While in Delhi I spent most of my time wandering the streets taking portrait shots of people everywhere. For about twenty minutes I stood on a concrete divider taking pictures of cars and people as they passed me usually with a huge smile on their face. I spent another day at the amazing Baha’i Lotus Temple and wandering through the markets that surrounded it. I also prepared myself for the rest of India in a trial-by-fire way by spending a day in Old Delhi market–an inexplicably confusing, cramped, crowded and wonderful set of alleyways weaving through the old section of Delhi.

India is indeed a photographer’s dream as it seems every person I see actually wants me to take their picture and will say ‘thank you’ once I have done so– it’s certainly not like this in the States. The people are beautiful, in almost every way possible with women constantly covered in colorful sarees and sawar kameez (traditional women’s attire) with gold jewelry and colorful bangles, while men wear shirts of every color and some with matching turbans.

I am very excited about my time here.

While spending a few days in Bahrain, a small island country just off the coast of Saudi Arabia, I was fascinated by the contrast between modern trends of globalization and the traditional Muslim dress and culture. Certainly the most humbling and fascinating moment from my time in Bahrain was when I joined in a political conversation with two Saudi men and a Kuwaiti man about the changing cultures in the Islamic world and the views towards the West.

Persistent rainy days and one of the worst storms Europe had seen in years provided a challenging forum for a photographer, but the culture and personality that emanates from the streets of Amsterdam was ever-present. This storm actually caused one of the famous stone hooks that are at the peak of the roofs in Amsterdam townhouses to crumble and fall to the ground, only about 50 feet from where I was walking. After that happened, I decided it was time to quickly take cover inside to wait out the rest of the storm.

While it is always interesting to just wander the streets of Amsterdam, I was disappointed to discover that many of the better museums in Amsterdam were either under construction, temporarily moved to an alternate location, or simply closed. Because of this there was more time to sit and people watch from the cafes, and visit one of the more humorous “museums” in Amsterdam–Madam Tussaud’s Wax Museum.

As always, Amsterdam was an incredibly fun and friendly city filled with good food and a wonderful memories, but when my it was time for my flight to Bahrain, I was ready to go explore more uncharted territories.